


idiosyncrasy

by whichlights



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hackers, F/M, Fluff, Genderfluid Loki (Marvel), Getting Together, M/M, Other, TODAY ON ROSE WRITES ANOTHER MARVEL FIC INSTEAD OF LITERALLY ANYTHING ELSE, bind safely kids, really weird first meetings, trans tony is like.. mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-15 04:23:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13605459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whichlights/pseuds/whichlights
Summary: Tony gets hacked by someone who goes by Trickster. It was probably for a good reason.





	idiosyncrasy

Tony’s day was uneventful until he got hacked.

His bank account was secure now, because Tony was smart, and had great security measures in place. His entire database was practically unhackable, and his security measures traced IP addresses back to the source, blocked code, and undid changes that any hacker had tried to make. He’d sent two of his security officers to track down who had attempted to hack his bank account.

They were back now, and Tony was standing in the lobby, arms crossed, and mildly pissed. The guards were dragging someone in, assumably the hacker. The hacker was dressed in a baggy green flannel shirt and torn skinny jeans, well worn like a favorite outfit. “This the guy?” Tony asked.

“Practically begged to get caught,” one of the security officers said.

The hacker looked up and grinned at him. His hair was black, and messily cut right above his shoulders. His eyes were sharp green, the kind of green that had to be colored lenses. His grin was just as sharp as his eyes. “Hello,” he said, giving as good of a half salute as he could with his arms restrained by Tony’s security. One of the guards was holding a backpack.

“So you’re the guy that can break through 98% of my cybersecurity,” Tony said, trying not to sound approving.

“It was very well put together, but I’m very good at what I do.” The hacker shrugged. “What do you want? I know what I want.”

“Do you want me to call the police?” One of Tony’s guys asked him. Tony looked at him, then at the hacker.

The hacker just raised an eyebrow at him. “I want five minutes to lay forward a preposition,” he said.

“No police,” Tony said. “Take him to my office.”

The hacker was whisked away, and Tony felt like those eyes were already trying to hack into him and rewire him.

\---

The hacker was sitting cross legged on his desk when Tony walked in, his hands zip tied behind his back. He leaned forward, grinning in a way that did not fit the situation. “Mr. Stark, your 8:30 is here,” he drawled.

Tony closed the door behind him. “What’s your name?” He asked.

“My hacker handle is Trickster. The NSA has a file on me a mile long. I know because I’ve looked at it.”

Tony whistled. “You can hack the NSA?”

Trickster just grinned that sharp grin at him.

“And you couldn’t get past  _ my  _ security?”

“No,” Trickster said. He kicked out his legs, moving his position so he was sitting on his feet. “Now, I need a favor.”

“You’re joking, right?” Tony laughed. “You just tried to rob me blind.”

“No, I didn’t.” Trickster narrowed his eyes. “If you look, you’ll see I only tried to get a couple thousand. That must be pocket change to you.”

Tony frowned. “Then why me, if you weren’t going to take more?”

“It was between you and the bank of Switzerland, and I’m good at manipulating people, not banks.”

“You know, telling the person you’re trying to manipulate that you’re going to manipulate them isn’t usually the best move,” Tony pointed out.

Trickster was still smiling. “No, that’s part of the manipulation.”

“So, why me?”

“You’re…  _ nice _ . You have a heart, or whatever. This is where my favor comes in.”

“Let me guess, it has to do with why you needed the money?”

“My brother is dying,” Trickster said simply. “And I can’t afford his treatment. It’s funny, actually. If I can’t afford to get him hospitalized, he’ll die, but if I can, he’ll have a full recovery.”

“He can’t afford it himself?”

“He’s an art student.” Trickster rolled his eyes.

“Why should I believe you?” Tony asked. “How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

“I’ll tell you my name if you agree to help me,” Trickster offered. “My full, legal name. Then you can transfer your funds into my brother’s account and send me off to the police, or the FBI, or someone.”

“You don’t care if you get arrested?”

Trickster laughed. “If I cared about that, I would have taken a lower risk that would pay off in a long term. But I don’t know how long my brother has, so go big or go home. I don’t care what happens to me, I just want him to live.”

Tony looked at him. Trickster was still grinning, and his eyes were still  _ sharp _ . And he seemed very nonchalant for someone whose brother’s life was on the line. “What’s your name?” Tony asked again.

“In my line of work, anonymity is priceless. I’m wanted in six countries. Do you promise to help my brother?”

“I… can’t promise that yet. I  _ can’t  _ trust you.”

“Fair enough then.” Trickster looked away.

Tony grabbed a pair of scissors off of his desk and cut Trickster’s zip ties. “Come on, we’re going for a walk.”

“What?” Trickster rubbed his wrists, glancing between Tony and the scissors warily. “Why?”

“So I can trust you.”

Trickster eyed him warily. “But  _ I  _ don’t trust  _ you _ .”

“Then we’re on equal footing. Want to go for a walk?” Tony rephrased it.

Trickster tilted his head at him, then untangled his legs and jumped off of Tony’s desk. He grabbed his backpack off the floor, slinging it over one shoulder. “Lead the way, Stark.”

\---

Tony got Trickster a cup of coffee and a muffin from the cafe downstairs. The hacker practically inhaled the muffin- it seemed to be gone before Tony could blink. He gulped down his coffee.

“You’re getting the grand tour,” Tony decided. “But nothing classified.”

Trickster shrugged like he didn’t care, but his eyes analyzed Tony’s every move, and they flicked towards the exits, anything that might get in the way of an escape. This was someone used to running, which made sense, seeing as he was a criminal. Tony would have to keep an eye out, or he might bolt.

Tony offered him a hand out of habit, and Trickster ignored him. Tony took back his hand and pointed to the stairwell. “Floor one?”

“What’s up there?” Trickster asked.

“The labs you and other civilians are allowed to see.”

Trickster just shrugged again. Tony took that as a “whatever” and off they went.

As they walked up the flight of stairs, Trickster winced, hand on his ribs. He grabbed onto the railing to keep from falling.

Tony turned to him, hands out. “You alright? Whatever your brother got contagious? Do I need to call an ambulance?”

“No,” Trickster barked out a laugh. “It’s my binder. Damn thing. Forgot about it.”

Trickster looked at Tony like he was daring him to say something, and Tony said, “there’s a bathroom just a little further if you want to take it off.”

“Yah,” Trickster breathed. “Probably a good idea.”

\---

Trickster had his arms crossed over his chest when he came out. Tony handed him what was left of his coffee, and he gulped it down. “Thank God for caffeine. I was up all night trying to break your bank account,” Trickster said. “Your encryption is beautiful,” he said, not taking his eyes off of Tony. His eyes were  _ really  _ green.

“Thanks?” Tony tried. “That why you’ve inhaled your coffee at a speed that should not be physically possible? And why your binder was still on?”

“Fuck off,” he said venomously.

Tony held up his hands in surrender. “Sorry, sorry, definitely. Do you want a jacket? Layering up really helped me with my dysphoria.”

“Fine,” Trickster muttered after a heartbeat. Tony handed him his jacket, and Trickster wrapped it around himself. “Thanks,” he muttered. “Thor made me promise to not hurt myself with binding. Asshole.”

“Who’s Thor?” Tony asked.

Trickster froze. “My… my brother. His name is Thor.”

“Oh. That’s a good name.”

Trickster pulled the jacket around himself tighter. “I don’t want him to die, Stark,” he said, not looking at Tony. “So what do you want from me?”

“The truth,” Tony said. “All I need is your name. Well, and a bank account to put funds into.”

“And I need you to  _ promise  _ to pay for Thor’s treatment,” Trickster insisted.

“Alright,” Tony whispered. “I will.”

The hacker took a deep breath. “My name is Loki Odinson.”

\---

“Why hacking?” Tony asked as they walked around Tony’s tower.

Loki shrugged. “It was supposed to be a joke. The genderfluid kid that doesn’t believe in binaries, working with binary code. Then I got good at it, and me and Thor’s parents died, and we couldn’t access the trust fund they left for us until we were  _ both  _ eighteen. Thor is two years older than me, and he got into MIT, so… I learned how to use my computer skills to fund Thor’s college.”

“How about you? You ever go to college?”

Loki snorted. “You sound ridiculous. Of course not. Anyways, Thor majored in aeronautical engineering, only minored in art, actually. I just like calling him an art student. So, he’s all graduated now, and he and his boyfriend live together in mutual bliss, doing dumb science shit together.”

“If you’re conning me, you’re selling it really good,” Tony said.

“I  _ am  _ conning you. For a good reason.”

“Because you love your brother.”

“Because it’d piss me off if he died.” Loki kicked a rock. It went flying into the road. “Now, about making sure he doesn’t…”

Tony got out his phone. With Loki’s help, he got the money transferred into an account. “There you go,” Tony said.

“Thanks,” Loki said.

They looked at each other. Loki cleared his throat. “What… what happens now?”

“Now you get out of here before I change my mind about turning you into the FBI,” Tony said.

“You’re letting me go?”

“Don’t take it personally.”

Loki gave him a sideways grin and a half salute, said, “of course not,” and walked away.

\---

Two weeks later, Tony was standing in front of someone’s door. He knocked, and a blonde guy opened it. “Hello,” he said cheerfully, which did not match his massive muscles.

Tony cleared his throat. “Hi, I’m looking for Loki?” Tony said, wincing a little. This was such a bad idea.

The guy sighed. “I’m so sorry about her.”

“Um- you, you know her?” Tony said, reeling. No way.

“I’m her brother,” he said with a shake of his head. He turned back inside a little. “Loki! Get your butt down here, sis!”

Thor looked back at Tony. “Sorry, almost forgot. I’m Thor, nice to meet you. You are?”

“I’m Tony Stark.”

Thor’s eyes widened. “You-”

“What do you want, you big oaf-” a voice was saying, shoving Thor away from the door, and Tony stared back at sharp green eyes.

This was Loki alright. Her hair was the same length, and she was wearing loose fitting jeans and an MIT hoodie that was a size or two too big for her, and she looked at Tony with bright green eyes, and looked like she’d seen a ghost.

“Loki,” Thor said warningly. “Why is this very important, very rich man at my house looking for you?”

“So, I never told you how I payed for your hospital bill, right?” Loki laughed.

“I just assumed you got a sugar daddy. I swear to God, if I was  _ right,  _ and it was  _ Tony fucking Stark _ -”

“I hacked him,” Loki said. “Then conned him into giving me the money.”

Thor just sighed. He looked back at Tony. “Again, I am  _ so sorry _  about her.”

Thor went back inside, leaving Tony alone with Loki.

She leaned against the door frame. “She/her,” she said. “Just in case you haven’t figured it out.”

“I, uh- okay!” Tony said. “Got it. Yah.”

“What are you doing here? How did you find me?”

“Google,” Tony said truthfully.

“Dammit.” She huffed. “Alright, so what do you want?”

“To… uh, check up on you? Your brother looks good.”

“He made a full recovery,” Loki picked at her nails. They were painted sparkly green and black. “Change your mind about turning me in?”

“I have some things to ask,” Tony admitted.

“Speak then.”

“Can you rewrite my cybersecurity? You know, the firewall and all that?”

Loki blinked. “What?”

“Well, you found a chink in it, and doubtless others will too. It’s only a matter of time. Can you make it better? For financial compensation, of course.”

“Are you… are you offering me a job,” she demanded.

Tony shook his head. “No, no, because that would make what I want to ask you next weird.”

“That is?”

“You wanna go out for coffee sometime?”

Loki was full on staring at him now. “You’re joking, right? You’ve got to be fucking with me.”

“No,” Tony said. “You don’t have to, if you don’t want to, but I mean… I’d like to go on a date with you, if you do, too.”

“I… I’m wanted in seven countries, Tony.”

“You told me it was six!”

“I’ve been busy.”

Tony took a deep breath. “Okay. I don’t really care. I just… I would like to give this a try.”

“You are not what I expected,” Loki finally said.

“It’s one of my many charms.”

“Alright then. Yes.”

“To which of my prospects?”

“Both.” Loki smirked.

**Author's Note:**

> my tumblr is witchlightsands, my marvel sideblog is genderfluid-loki, and really i was just looking for an excuse to use this title


End file.
